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Hyundai Sonata Real World MPG

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Comments

  • romil01romil01 Member Posts: 75
    Yeah, it has been a good car. I have almost 37,000 miles on it now and have only done regular maintenance and one recall. The biggest issue is creaking noises from the hard plastic in the center console and dashboard. I wish Hyundai was like other manufacturers when it comes to frequency of oil changes...they recommend every 3,000 miles where as most companies seem to be moving to 5,000 or 10,000 mile intervals.
  • crankeeecrankeee Member Posts: 298
    Actually check your book in the glovebox. 3000 changes are really for hard service. The routine is longer. I personally prefer 3000 miles for all cars but that is an old timer's habit that may not be true anymore. Seems like cheap maintenance. The I-4 engine in the Sonata appears to be well matched to the transmission and the weight of the car - very smooth shifting and the excellent MPG on the highway. We do lots of research before buying, but it feels good when the purchase pans out.
  • hunday12hunday12 Member Posts: 4
    I bought this car a year ago Dec. Until the last two months, I was getting 34 -36 mpg in city, and 37 to 40 mpg on highway. Within two months the gas mileage hqas droped to 29 -30 in city and 32 -34 on highway under the best driving conditions. I was told at the dealer that this is "normal", and that all new cars do this. MY car has only 11,000 miles on it, and I consider it to be too new for this to happen. It has been serviced regularly (three times). I would like to know if this has happened to other owners of this car.
  • crankeeecrankeee Member Posts: 298
    Wow! I would be extremely happy with either the before or after. We get 22-24 in city and 33-37 on highway with 11,000 miles on 2012 GLS and are totally pleased. We bought the Sonata mainly for MPG and overall value for a very reasonable price. MPG is EPA or better on highway and the features are hard to quibble with - bluetooth, beautiful functional interior with good seats, A/C, controls and comfort. Great driveability - similar to other midsize cars we have had in past. Enjoy your MPG, you got a winner!
  • hunday12hunday12 Member Posts: 4
    My problem was with the huge reduction in mileage after only 11,000 miles. Was told by service department that this reduction in mpg is normal after the car is "broken in". I also heard that some cars get better with time ,and others get worse. So, I guess I will be happy with it as long as it doesn't get worse than this. I knew someone with a 2011 just like mine ,and his got 37 highway consistently at a year old, and he was a "shot-gun" driver, unlike myself. So, I guess all Sonatas GLS's aren't created alike.
  • jlindhjlindh Member Posts: 282
    Google "winter gas". That's more likely the the cause of your mileage change. Surprised the service department tried to BS you with the answer you got from them.
  • hunday12hunday12 Member Posts: 4
    Thanks you for your suggestion. However, this car did get the excellent mpg all last winter,and didn't change until this Fall when it steadily dropped . However, I will check it out.I agree with you about the BS which I was given at the dealership.
  • backybacky Member Posts: 18,949
    Finally got to take my wife's 5-month-old Sonata GLS on a trip longer than ~10 miles. Car has 3000 miles on it. Drove a round trip of 180 miles, most of it 4-lane highway with cruise set between 65-67. Only had to pass a couple of times. Some in-town driving in the middle. First day was clear, mid-30s, light wind. When I exited for my destination, the mpg meter read 38.5, nearly all nonstop highway. When I got on the highway for the return trip, the in-town driving had dropped the average mpg to 35.8. But although I drove in snow/rain and a 20 mph headwind on the way back, the overall mpg ended up at 36.5. With a little warmer temperatures, I might do a bit better than that, but I'm happy with the results, even allowing for some error in the trip computer. It's at least 10% better than I got with my 2007 GLS, and that car had 162 hp vs. 198 on the new car.
  • reagan_areagan_a Member Posts: 3
    I got my 2.4L Auto Sonata GLS last week and managed to use up my first tank of gas yesterday. I got in 330 miles on the odometer at the time and refilled 17.7 gal (roughly 18 mpg for 30% city 70% highway). This is incredibly frustrating. Does anyone have any tips or solutions as to why this might be this low? I am generally conservative with my acceleration and braking, trying to get the most out my car. I live in the Northeast Philadelphia, which is nowhere near as hectic in traffic as our center city. So it doesn't make sense. I will greatly appreciate any input!
  • hunday12hunday12 Member Posts: 4
    I understand your frustration. I have found that in order to get more accurate readings, I have to reset the trip button for each trip. Even though my mpg gage shows 40 on open highway driving, I don't think it is accurate. It seems to me that if the gage shows 550 upon filling the tank, and the tank holds 18 gallons, it would be more accurate to divide 550 by 18 to get the correct average mileage, which is way below the mileage claimed by the company. I have found this mileage thing to be the most annoying aspect of this car, and I am very disappointed with the car for this reason.
  • dgollydgolly Member Posts: 6
    No help will be enough. They lie through their teeth. Keep it by hand. The computer is invalid. I get barely over 30 mpg on a straight highway run. Lower 20s local. It drops like a rock going up hills. Me too. The car's fine. The MPG the downfall. The liar who sold me the car went back to selling subprime mortgages. Less sleezy.
  • nymattnymatt Member Posts: 4
    Do not use the ECO Boost button in local driving - it makes the engine work harder. Only use it when you're on the open highway. I have seen an improvement since I've started using it this way - instead of using it at all times.
  • reagan_areagan_a Member Posts: 3
    Thanks for the quick reply guys. I will def try the ECO boost button recommendation and keep it off in local. Hunday12, I wish my fuel remaining gauge showed 550 miles after filling up. It showed me 368 after filling up, and I didn't even get that much out of it (only got 330 miles). Dgolly, I tried talking to my dealership and hyundai, but they both told me that its because the car haven't been broken in. I think they're trying to stall me because they're afraid I might ask for an exchange or something (not even sure if thats possible with me already putting in nearly 400 miles so far). My cousin who bought the exact same model gets 23 local and 35 highway. I guess some of us just happen to drawn up the few bad ones of the batch. Its also funny how they're reimbursing almost every other 2012/2013 models for low mpg, except the sonata.
  • michellej87michellej87 Member Posts: 28
    I have 2013 Sonata with 5k miles on it.

    I have been using eco boost all the time thinking it would choose mpg-friendly acceleration in city. May be I am wrong. I should try turning it off.

    Overall I am getting 28 mpg but I drive mostly highway (2 miles to get on and off the highway and 15 miles on highway at 65-75mph). I drive well never using accelerator when not needed and turn AC off unless it is super hot.

    When I went on longer trip 60 miles I got 34+ mph.

    Overall the car is meeting my expectations but I expect more.
  • dgollydgolly Member Posts: 6
    How can you expect more when it's meeting your expectations?
  • fushigifushigi Member Posts: 1,459
    It's rated at 28 overall and you're getting 28 overall. Not sure why you'd expect more.
    2017 Infiniti QX60 (me), 2012 Hyundai Elantra (wife)
  • reagan_areagan_a Member Posts: 3
    When you drive on the highway, try setting your cruise control on 60-63 mph. You should hit 40+. I noticed that if you go consistently at a lower speed of 50-55 mph, you ll get an even higher mpg. While it was fun watching the mpg number go up, thats just not a realistic speed you could make a habit of driving on a highway. Overall, you certainly beat the heck out of my average mpg of 18-21.
  • cpenycpeny Member Posts: 18
    It is always the city driving that has the greatest impact, however I should be able to drive the legal speed limit and acquire the printed results. If not the manufacture should make the necessary changes. They are suppose to reflect realistic fuel mileage right?
  • backybacky Member Posts: 18,949
    Depends. In some areas, the legal speed limit is 75 or even 80 mph. Those are far beyond the EPA test speeds. So IMO you should not expect to hit the EPA highway estimate at such speeds, given FE drops off a LOT after about 60 mph.
  • dgollydgolly Member Posts: 6
    They're totally full of crap. I barely get 27 overall. The town performance is stunningly poor. My 1995 Camry wagon did a little better. The car has no power. Climb a hill or put some bags and bikes in the back and mpg plunges. Even when you roll down a hill the transmission resists acceleration. Slip it into neutral. You'll pick up speed. THEN you'll get better mileage. The people claiming to get 40 mpg are lying. Probably the guy who sold me my car, went back to selling subprime mortgages. More prestigious than selling Hyundais.
  • mathersonmatherson Member Posts: 41
    recently made a round trip from Boston to Toronto with 2 additional passengers, 2 hockey bags and luggage.
    Filled up in Buffalo and home both ways. Averaged over 35 MPG (my calculation, not car's reading which is always higher) both ways driving 75 with cruise control and A/C on most of the trip.

    In general I get around 25-27 around town. (Not city, but not highway) and around 28 in a mix of driving on most tanks.

    I got sick of lack of acceleration with ECO button on, so I turned it off a few months ago. But I do drive relatively easy most of the time.
  • cpenycpeny Member Posts: 18
    Hate to say I don't believe you, but I really, really don't. Thanks for playing.
  • backybacky Member Posts: 18,949
    I just did a 192-mile round trip in my wife's 2013 GLS (2.4L), with about 500 lbs of people and luggage. Temps in upper 60s to mid-70s, A/C on for the outbound half, slight tail wind outbound, stiffer (20 mph?) headwind on return. Gently rolling terrain. Almost all freeway on cruise @ 72 mph, didn't have to disengage cruise much (had to a few times to get around some slowpokes.

    Averaged 38.6 mpg by the computer. Even if it's off some, it did well vs. the 35 EPA rating. ECO was on, but not sure it makes much difference when cruising on the highway.

    And for those who can't handle the truth... reminds me of Jack Nicholson in "A Few Good Men". ;)
  • iluvmysephia1iluvmysephia1 Member Posts: 7,704
    thanks for the report. You are one on Edmunds that I trust to give an honest report and though I'm not interested in buying a Hyundai Sonata I am generally interested in overall HyunKia news of most kinds, so thank you for that.

    I always go by the mpg average meter on the dash of our 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer GTS and feel that that's close enough for figuring up ghastly mileage for the car.

    2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick

  • dgollydgolly Member Posts: 6
    1 of 3 things. Some owners lying or keeping poor records. Or some people have Sonata getting 35 while others get 25. Neither is a happy tale for Hyundai. Mine gets very poor mpg.
  • backybacky Member Posts: 18,949
    Or some people have Sonata getting 35 while others get 25.

    Bingo!

    Not sure why that is any "unhappier" for Hyundai than any other automaker, though. As the EPA likes to remind people, "... EPA ratings are a useful tool for comparing the fuel economies of different vehicles but may not accurately predict the average MPG you will get.".

    http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/why_differ.shtml
  • mathersonmatherson Member Posts: 41
    cpeny, i keep maticulous records, and service my car regularly. Just changed the engine air filter before the trip and had windows closed and cruise control on. i hit zero traffic and made minimal stops. it is what it is, numbers do not lie.
    sorry you cannot believe the truth.
  • crankeeecrankeee Member Posts: 298
    We have a 2012 GLS with just over 15,000 miles. Many posts on mileage by various drivers points to driver and conditions as much as the specific car model. We have few hills and get 22-25 in city. Highway is consistently 33-34 at 75 or more. Dropping speed to 65-70 results in significant increase to 36-38, with no stops or speed changes, two adults and normal luggage load.
    Point is the cars will get the EPA mileage, and better, depending on conditions, driver and mostly ; speed on highway. City mileage too variable to compare.
  • kyrptokyrpto Member Posts: 216
    Our 2013 Sonata hybrid has gotten between 40 and 42 mpg on the first 3 fill ups.
  • iron2iron2 Member Posts: 3
    I totally agree. Someone is surely full of crap. Bought the 2013 GLS in Sept 2012. First fill-up for city driving was 24.2. Since then it's been between 20.1 and 22. A friend of mine has a 2013 GLS and is reporting about the same mpg for city driving. Normally I fill-up after about 270-300 miles. Just filled up after driving 113 miles just to see the results. Only 19.7 mpg. Called Hyundai to discuss the matter. Also, the ECO setting has no effect at all. They gave me a case # and told me to take it to my local Hyundai dealer and ask them to do a Fuel Economy Adjustment Rating Test. They didn't know what I was talking about. They told me the only way they could check MPG was to fill it up, drive the car and then fill it up again. Same thing I'm doing. Called Hyundai back to let them know. Said they didn't know what else to do. Going to take it in next week to have the car checked for any possible problems. Manufactures should perform a MPG test themselves. EPA is a joke.
  • dudleyrdudleyr Member Posts: 3,469
    Manufacturers do test themselves. EPA just does spot checks. If the numbers are off it is because Hyundai submitted them that way.
  • iron2iron2 Member Posts: 3
    I totally agree with you. This is normally how it works. Fuel economy is measured under controlled conditions in a laboratory using a standardized test procedure specified by federal law. Manufacturers test their own vehicles—usually pre-production prototypes—and report the results to EPA. EPA reviews the results and confirms about 10-15 percent of them through their own tests at the National Vehicles and Fuel Emissions Laboratory. Thanks for your reply
  • backybacky Member Posts: 18,949
    The real world numbers are definitely off from the EPA estimates on my wife's 2013 2.4. On every highway drive I've done, I've achieved over 38 mpg. The last two, each 150 miles and with some non-highway driving, were 40.0 and 38.7 mpg. In town, I easily exceed the EPA number except in very cold weather and short trips.

    But my wife has trouble hitting 20 mpg on the same car, in city driving with some urban freeway mixed in.

    It's not the car (except in rare cases where there is a problem affecting FE). It's how and where and when the car is driven.
  • cpenycpeny Member Posts: 18
    When I here drifts like this all I can think of is where do people live where they can drive their car like ma and pa kettle. Almost impossible in most major metropolitans without causing road rage or an accident. But kudos to those that can, but seeing is believing in most cases. I drive pretty conservative and have yet to reach 25 city. Highway I can get 35 nog without using a/c and few hills in my path. So I will leave this with simply saying Wow.
  • backybacky Member Posts: 18,949
    edited July 2013
    My wife drives like a granny... more conservatively than I do. Obviously there's more to it than that. I live in a metro area of 2.5 million. Major enough for you?

    I am fortunate to live in the Midwest, where driving no more than 5 over on highways in the right lane won't cause road rage. Also I don't sit in stop and go traffic every day like a lot of drivers do.

    My "wow" is that I can't figure out why more people don't understand what "YMMV" means wrt fuel economy and the EPA estimates.
  • kyrptokyrpto Member Posts: 216
    For the best mpg info check out Consumer Reports.
    Hyundai Sonata and Camry both came in @ 27 mpg in their road test.
  • LASHAWNLASHAWN Member Posts: 303
    There is no sure fire way for any dealership to do a MPG fuel economy test. I work at a Ford dealership and I run into this problem alot with some of our customers. I can tell you the same thing that I tell them. Look at your vehicle's Maroney Label under those 2 big bold fuel economy numbers for the fine print that says "Expected range for most drivers" and if your vehicle is inside of that range it's getting the correct fuel economy. There are too many variables that contribute to fuel economy to say what's the cause and/or fix because people driving habits are different than what the EPA and manufactures do to determine what a vehicle's fuel econom should be. You can drive your car and get 19-20mpg than someone else drives it and gets 26-27mpg. I own a 2012 Genesis 3.8 and when my wife drives it, she gets about 25-26mpg, when I drive it I get 27-28mpg, and I'm not easy on it.
  • mwaugh1mwaugh1 Member Posts: 7
    Nice ...mine is giving 32 on the first tank after careful driving :-) ..although the terrain here in Los Angeles in not flat. Still a low number, dealer recommends waiting to see numbers on 2nd and 3rd tank post break in period :(
  • iron2iron2 Member Posts: 3
    Was told by my Dealer/Service Manager that that there is a 15K mile engine break in period before true MPG can be calculated. This is a new one on me. Purchased my 2013 Sonata Sept 2012. First 2 fill-ups were 24.2 mpg. Since then I've averaged between 19 & 21 mpg. Only 6k miles on the car at this time. At this rate it will take me between 2-3 years to average the 24 mpg for city driving as advertised. Has anyone ever heard of this break-in period ?
  • backybacky Member Posts: 18,949
    I've owned or leased five Hyundais or Kias (shared powertrains) and I have found that FE has improved significantly as the engine gets some miles. I've seen improvement in the first 1500-2000 miles but it tends to get better beyond that, so there seems to be truth to what the dealer is telling you.

    My wife's 2013 Sonata GLS, leased nearly a year ago, has almost 7000 miles on it now and it easily meets or beats its EPA FE numbers... when I drive it. My wife doesn't know how to drive for optimum FE (and yes, I've tried teaching her) so she usually gets below the EPA numbers. Which proves again "YMMV", even with the same car but different drivers.

    Keep in mind however that YOU may never get the 24 mpg EPA number. It all depends on what "city driving" is for YOU and how it compares to how the EPA tests cars. No one individual is guaranteed to hit the EPA numbers. It's a means of comparing FE between cars. I don't do a lot of driving in heavy traffic, e.g. in downtowns, and rarely need to drive in stop-and-go rush hour traffic, so I know that's one reason I have no trouble beating the EPA numbers on any car I've owned or leased.
  • h8n09corollah8n09corolla Member Posts: 2
    I drive the same vehicle, 2013 Hyundai Sonata 2.4, and get mileage well below the EPA estimates. Granted, I have a very short commute at very low speeds, but even on the highway, the only way I can achieve 30+ mpg is to reset the trip computer once I've reached highway speed. My combined mileage is in the 17-20 mpg range. I'm sure multiple factors contribute to the poor mileage and my driving habits could be better. That said, every other vehicle I've driven, I have gotten mileage averages in the ball park of the estimates, while this Hyundai is waaay off. My biggest problem with this is that EPA estimates are a factor when I am deciding which vehicle to purchase. Hyundai got busted with their EPA estimates on several other models and is re-imbursing owners of those vehicles, https://hyundaimpginfo.com/overview/affected-models#estimator is evidence of their over-stating economy ratings. Unfortunately, the Sonata isn't in the campaign. I'm just thankful that fuel prices have come down a little bit recently. Other than the fuel economy, I love the car.
  • backybacky Member Posts: 18,949

    I had a reminder yesterday of how much weather can factor into fuel economy. I made a 240-mile round trip in my wife's 2013 Sonata 2.4L, with four adults in the car. The outbound trip was at about 50 degrees, light mist, and a strong tailwind (sometimes crosswind). Speed most of the time was ~67 mph with several slower stints for road construction, also a few stoplights and 10 miles up front urban. FE on that leg was 39.7 mpg. On the return trip, I was usually driving into that stiff wind, and had a few more stoplights due to a slightly different route. Temperature was in upper 50s. FE for that leg was only 34.9 mpg. Still quite good given the EPA highway rating is 35 and I had four people in the car and not all highway driving.

  • explorerx4explorerx4 Member Posts: 19,308

    @Backy elevation changes are also a factor. I even notice it on my just under 30 mile round trip commute.

    2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
  • backybacky Member Posts: 18,949

    Oh definitely. I've noticed that too. That could have played a bit of a role in my case as the destination elevation is ~100 feet less than the starting elevation.

  • brianj6brianj6 Member Posts: 3

    I have a 2013 GLS that is getting 25-26 mpg city and 35-38 hwy. We just got a turbo SE and getting 23 city 34 hwy although only for a week on it.

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